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04 February 2013

China Glaze Avant Garden ♥ Swatches and Review

Are you ready for Spring? I know I am! After most of January was above average in the Midwest, these past two weeks have been down right FREEZING! Someone remind me of why I thought it was a good idea to move back to Iowa!

Whenever the weather is particularly bleak I look for fun, Spring colors to brighten my day, and this year China Glaze has provided just that in the form of their Avant Garden collection. I love the mixture of brights and pastels - for whatever mood you are in!

Dandy Lyin’ Around - When I first saw Dandy Lyin’ Around I thought “great another sheer shimmer.” I did not expect it to come so alive on the nail! Two coats of polish will give you nails a glow, and a third coat builds it up to the bright white you see above!

Keep Calm, Paint On - Great name, great color, great shimmer - how can you go wrong with this polish? The first coat went on very patchy but was opaque and smooth after the second coat. This soft shimmery mint green is a must have for Spring!

Fade Into Hue - This polish is a described as a periwinkle blue, but to my eyes is much bluer than that! No matter, this gorgeous muted shade applied flawlessly! The formula was thin, but easy to apply, and only required two coats.

Tart-y For the Party - This polish is described as a lavender crème, and this time I agree! Again the crème formula was on the thin side, and while most nails were smooth in two coats a few nails required a third to make it even.

Pink-E Promise - While I can’t stand this color against my skin tone, the pink shimmer in this polish made up for the blah shade.

Life is Rosy - Another “blah” shade, but great formula. I don’t see this as a very contemporary shade.

Mimosas Before Manis - This was the color that surprised me! Although my picture doesn’t show it very well, this orangey-peachy-coral has gold shimmer running through it that reminds me of another, HTF China Glaze called Bare If You Dare. Bare If You Dare is slightly more orange, and Mimosas Before Manis is slightly more peach. Both are equally awesome! This one required three coats.

Passion for Petals - This shade is described as bright salmon-pink. In the bottle it leans red, but on my fingers it leans pink. The formula was very pigmented and smooth, almost a one-coater but not quite.

Snap My Dragon - Now here is the “one coat wonder” that I wanted Passion for Petals to be! Snap My Dragon is a red infused with pink shimmer, which gives it an overall pink appearance.

Fancy Pants - Cue the singing angels, because I LOVE THIS COLOR! Blurple (aka indigo) with pink shimmer. Amazing. After I finished swatching all of this collection and the Glitz Bitz ‘n Pieces collection, I put this one back on right away! Definitely a must have!

Sunday Funday - I love aqua crèmes, and this one was no exception! It again had the thinner crème formula that was present throughout this collection, but it was very smooth and easy to apply. This one also reminds me of a discontinued China Glaze, called Aqua Baby. Sunday Funday is slightly brighter than Aqua Baby. Sunday Funday’s formula was very shiny and only required two coats.

Budding Romance - This polish is the oddball from the collection, but I have a feeling that nail polish aficionados will love this one. It’s a “pretty ugly” shade that nail addicts are drawn to like moth to a flame. This one was almost smooth in two coats, but I did three just to make sure, and it dried to the same shiny finish as the other crèmes in the collection.

I had a hard time narrowing down my top picks! Definitely Fancy Pants, Dandy Lyin’ Around, Keep Calm, Paint On, Budding Romance and Fade Into Hue, although I would not pass on Tart-y for the Party, Mimosas Before Manis or Sunday Funday!

The China Glaze Avant Garden Collection will be available in March 2013.

Which ones will you be picking up?

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlaze), Twitter (@ChinaGlazeOfficial) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

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About Me

Hello! Welcome to polish insomniac, my little corner of the interwebz. This is where I share my passion for all things beauty. I started out obsessed with makeup, then in 2009 I discovered the wonderful world of nail polish. After a few years of blogging about strictly nails, I felt the urge to broaden my horizons and share my love of shopping, makeup and hair products. I have a slight obsession with eyeshadow palettes and IKEA.